The world and Mademoiselle

From January, 15th till March, 14th in Shanghai in a museum of modern art MoCA there passes exhibition Culture Chanel. The name at all evidence on Russian badly translated, to be exact not translated at all. And really, as it to tell on - russki - “ Chanel culture “? On most - that business organizers of an exhibition simply wanted to underline once again that indisputable fact that by Chanel is entered not only in fashion history, but also in history of world culture, with what, however, all and so for a long time already agree.

In 2007 the similar exhibition passed in Moscow in the Pushkin museum and was called even more pathosly: L`Art comme Univers. In Shanghai, as well as in Moscow, the exposition consists of five sections and if in Moscow it has been divided to quite concrete signs - “ Grey “ “ Red “ “ Sand “ “ the Tweed “ “ Venice “ That in Shanghai the curator of both exhibitions Jean - Lui Froman has decided to take out in names of sections abstract enough concepts - “ Sources “ “ Abstraction “ “ Imagined “ “ Invisible “ “ Freedom “. On the one hand, it is absolutely obvious that each of these concepts is applicable to creativity of any designer, the poet, the painter, the musician. On the other hand, such approach gives the chance to capture as much as possible widely everything that has been created Chanel, and to place it in a correct cultural context. Things Chanel are exposed against and in an environment of artefacts of different years and even centuries so that even communication between them and Chanel heritage was obvious to the person most ignorant of art. Among exhibits not only a work of art, but also the manuscript, a photo, samples of fabrics. Thus Jean - Lui Froman does not run in peculiar to many curators excessive teoretizirovanie. It with sincere admiration concerns everything that has been made with own hand Chanel, and exposes original things in foreshortening as much as possible favourable to them. So, well-known matroska Chanel it is exposed by a back to the spectator, and on a question why so, Froman rolls up eyes: “ Well, because all most important thing here in this collar and in these folds! “ and it, certainly, so. “ And look at this sleeve! Same it is ingeniously made. Here therefore at it it is so much followers! “ a sleeve the spectator sees sideways that is so that it was possible to estimate its smooth line okata, still such close to sleeves “ zhigo “ beginnings HH of century, but already absolutely on a modern harmony the comfortable.

certainly, all these subtleties are appreciable first of all to experts. And to the nonspecialists who have come on an exhibition, becomes clearly main: That small black dress created in 1926, seems made yesterday, and in it so it would be desirable to leave today. About such matroske each woman dreams, and the well-known tweed suit with a black edging, apparently, in general has not changed at all from the end of the fiftieth.

Certainly, all these unique samples are placed in one number with products of the present head of the house of Chanel Karl Lagerfeld. To us do not allow to doubt that Lagerfeld follows spirit and a letter of style of great Koko, holds sacred all its precepts. Here a wedding dress similar to an attire of nuns among which has taken place Chanel poor childhood, here a scarlet dress with a gold baroque embroidery - a reminder on its passionate love to Venice, here the whole arm of small black dresses with white collars - near to an original copy to underline fidelity to traditions. Initial suits from dairy - a white boucle with a black edging are in the same way exposed also - they are combined as if in the shop show-window, one over another and seem made under a carbon paper. And where there the old sample, you will not disassemble. Yes it and is not obligatory. After all the exhibition shows the main thing - Chanel ideas are not simply live, but zhivee all modern. And with it you will not argue.